Guiding Values
Diversity – As an international network of young people, diversity is central to each and every thing that PSM does. But beyond simply consisting of youth from every continent, we also actively provide spaces for cross-cultural learning, self-realization, and overcoming socialization and other obstacles to productive global collaboration. We also ask each PSM program participant to become familiar with:
– Anti-Oppression/Unlearning Colonization
Equity – Any true solution to climate change and its related challenges will be equitable. As it stands, the Global South, those people who have contributed the least to climate change so far, have born the brunt of its effects, and have received the least amount of benefit from economic and technological development brought about by reliance on fossil fuels. Equitable solutions must take into account this historical responsibility, must recognize the universal human right to Survival, and must have the ability to be implemented so that they empower people and preserve the planet.
Personal Sustainability – Being an agent for change can be exhausting. Therefore, the youth journalists of PSM do our best to sustain one another as we work together. Sometimes, this requires being financially compensated for our work at a livable, sustainable wage. Other times, it means building community support systems, providing each other with safe spaces to grow, taking the time to mentor another youth in a specific area, or provide emotional support. Above all else, PSM strives to give our youth journalists the opportunity to grow their skills sets, and to support the young people who are devoting their time and their energy to the climate movement, creating the world we want to inherit.
Empowerment – Disenfranchised groups have a history of being spoken for, rather than being listened to. This history has been to the detriment not only of individual communities, but also of human and planetary well-being. In order to address root problems and to seek out truly equitable and sustainable solutions, Project Survival Media empowers under-represented and disenfranchised communities rather than speaking for them. We don’t send reporters to cover climate impacts in communities around the world, we instead provide a structure, working directly with, training, and providing support to the youth who report on the best solutions for their community, in their region.
Sharing our values – By upholding these values, we also bring them with us to each meeting, contract, or partnership. We ask each person and organization that we work with to support equitable solutions and systems that empower the those most disproportionately impacted by climate change.
Project Survival Media work is also guided by the following sets of principles:
· PrinciplesofEnvironmentalJustice
· Non-Violent Communication (NVC)
· PrinciplesofWorkingTogether